Teen `Critical' In Cta Station Shooting

May 11, 1995|By Bernie Mixon, Tribune Staff Writer.

Hundreds of commuters making their way home from school and work Wednesday were sent running for cover by a shooting at the 95th Street CTA Rapid Transit Station that police said was between rival gang members.

When the smoke cleared, one teen was in critical condition with a gunshot wound to the head.

Chicago police captured two people and were searching for two others, one of whom was the shooter, according to Calumet Area Sgt. Rich Kobel.

The incident at the Dan Ryan line station began shortly before 3 p.m. when an argument broke out among three rival gang members standing at the station's bus platform, police said. A 16-year-old boy, described by police as a gang member, went over to talk to the other gang. When he turned to walk away, he was shot in the back of the head, police said.

Police arrived and chased the gang members. One turned and fired a shot at police, who returned the fire.

The wounded youth was listed in critical condition at Christ Hospital and Medical Center in Oak Lawn, according to a hospital spokeswoman.

The shooting, in the South Side's Roseland neighborhood, shocked many who regularly use CTA buses and trains. But some commuters conceded that with street violence increasing, bus and train stations are not immune to gunfire.

Alpha Berry is a regular at the 95th Street station, taking the train and bus home every day without serious incident. She arrived there Wednesday shortly after the shooting.

"It's surprising that it was so close," she said. "I always read and always hear about it, but I think it can never happen to me."

Tina Flemons used to be regular train rider, but her fear of violence on the public rails convinced her to rely instead on her automobile. But Flemons said she took the train Wednesday and wound up at the 95th Street station, because her car was in the shop.

Ben Harrison took the shooting in stride.

"The way society is it could happen here as well as downtown," said Harrison, who was dropping off a passenger at the station. "It could happen when I step outside my home."